Today I decided to take a stroll on the sidewalk in front of my house. A block away I spotted someone climb out of their car and set a bowl on the edge of the street. Curious, I walked over to take a look in the bowl. When I came closer, the car backed up to my position. A woman rolled down her window, waving at me to stop."Don't get closer," she said. "If you wait here, you'll see what I left for Rocky and friends. Thinking Rocky was a dog or a cat, I asked her, "What's in the bowl?""An apple with some water," she replied.Perplexed, I waited, thinking "Dogs eat apples sometimes, but not cats."Soon through the bushes, a large brown animal with three furry creatures appeared next to the bowl. The mother raccoon picked up the apple with her front paw hands and washed it in the water of the bowl. Splitting the fruit with her teeth, her kits shared the remnants."How did you know they were there?" I asked.​"They kept coming into my garden. This way, I'm keeping them over here."(c)A.Nation2019

The beach where I live has a wide sandy area. One day I took a walk in the morning sunlight and something on the stretch ahead caught my eye. A section of cardboard laid on the ground near a grassy overhang. Wary some crab or jellyfish might be under it, I extended my hand and turned the covering away. Much to my surprise I found a hill of salt. A trickle of water ran around the white grains from the runoff above.Bending down, I looked at the mound closer and saw small black bugs depositing one salt grain at a time onto the salt hill. This was most curious. So, I followed the trail of beetles up on the grassy ledge above me. There, someone had dumped a load of road salt on top of the bug's home. They were busy removing the grains away from the entry to their tunnel.This taught me a good lesson. That there is more intelligent life beneath our world.(c)A.Nation2018

People change. Even the devil was once an angel. Clarissa grabbed her coat off the chair and decided to talk to her neighbor about his barking dogs. All day and sometimes into the night, they would raise a ruckus.The dogs were fenced in the back of his house, so I had no fear about entering his front yard. I knocked and when I didn't receive an answer, I knocked again. The door cracked open and there through the door jam was Mr. Porter's nose."Hello, I'm Clarissa, your neighbor. May I talk to you about your dogs?""Go away! Leave me alone," he shouted back and slammed the door in my face.For the next two weeks, I brought over coffee, some pie, and finally clothes my husband didn't want to wear anymore. Then he opened the door a little wider this time."You know you've been persistent to talk to me. So talk," he said at last.I cleared my throat and began. "Your dogs, they make an awful racket. Do they get out much?" I asked."No.""May I walk them and you can come along with me if you want.""I'd better come with you," he replied.For several weeks of walking the animals and getting them familiar with my voice, they began to calm down. Soon he kept the dogs indoors during the night.​Even old Mr. Porter can be an angel.

A single rose with a letter attached hung by the door. The letter stated "See you at 8:00." I turned the card over and didn't see a signature or a name. I wonder who it could be?The tight red bud of the rose indicated to me how recent it had been purchased. I brought it over to one of my empty vases and after filling the decanter with water, I stared at the note. The hand writing was small and erratic. Anyone could have written this. Who do I know would send me a rose?The time on my wall clock was now 7:30. So I waited and waited, but no one arrived at 8:00. Disgusted, I turned on the TV.About 8:30, I heard a knock on my front door. When I answered, I gasped. A hundred red roses were all over the steps. The new card said, "I'll see you at 9:00."Well, I wasn't going to wait for someone this time. Then my phone rang. The caller ID didn't show the number."Hello?" I asked."Mary, did you get my flowers?""Robert? Where are you. I waited until 8:00 and no one came.""I've just been shipped to South Korea, but I wanted you to know how much I thought of you.""Oh, Robert, be safe, okay?"​He remembered.

I sat down in front of the assembly line today when I realized I couldn't find my hammer. This is really important as I'm considered one of the best carpenters in Santa's Elf League that builds wooden rocking horses.I looked under the counter, inside the cabinets to my right, and in the closet without luck."Why hasn't this table finished making the toys?" I heard Santa bellow."My hammer is missing," I cried.The old man fished around in his wide apron pockets and pulled out a small mallet."You'll have to use this, my friend," he said, handing over the small tool.Well, we finished the toys and wrapped them with colorful paper.On Christmas eve, Santa and his reindeer took off to deliver their gifts all over the world.The next morning, while we were cleaning up the toy factory, an announcement came over the speaker. The report said a little boy in Arizona opened his rocking horse gift and found an extra present inside for his father.When the father opened the wrapped item, he was surprised. The powers to be heard the man say, "I've always wanted a hammer like this."Merry Christmas everyone.